What kind of nonsense is this?
Chiang Songhai and Ge Liutao were so angry they could barely catch their breath.
The child is only thirteen years old—this is slinging mud at her! How despicable are these words!
Who is Old Li from the front alley? A widower in his forties, his wife died over ten years ago and he has no children. Nearly as old as Chiang Songhai, Guihua truly lacks morals, how dark must one's heart be to sling such mud on a thirteen-year-old child?
As for Desheng, he is the son of the village's charming widow, three years her senior, and looks like his handsome mother. Even though he is just a sixteen-year-old boy, he is very good-looking, and many young girls in the village blush when they see him.
By the words of Guiying, is Chiang Xiao hooking up both the young and the old?
"Guiying, you're going too far!" Ge Liutao is usually gentle and soft-spoken, unused to confrontation, and those harsh words from Guiying made her chest feel tight, squeezing out just this one sentence.
Chiang Songhai raised his hand but ultimately did not dare to slap her.
Against someone like Guiying who throws tantrums and acts maliciously, what can an older man do to her? Could he really lay a hand on her?
Chiang Xiao, seeing her grandparents so infuriated their faces turned crimson, felt even more resentful and, gripping the broom tightly, jumped up furiously to hit Guiying's head.
"I'll teach you to spew filth! I'll teach you to sully my reputation with rumors and speculations!"
Guiying, clutching her head, hopped around on one foot. Previously, Chiang Xiao, considering herself educated, had always carried herself with a certain dignity, as if she looked down on these villagers as being beneath her. And now, she's acting like a common shrew!
Wasn't she supposed to be sick and burning up with fever? Yet she still has enough energy to hit people!
Chiang Xiao gritted her teeth, yelling, "Grandma, go bring some boiling water, I want to douse this foul woman who tarnished my reputation!"
What?
To douse with boiling water?
Seeing her like this, she seems truly capable of dousing her with boiling water!
Guiying was genuinely frightened and darted toward the door to run outside.
"You just wait! I'll get Da Qiang from my house! If you don't compensate me for my innocence, this isn't over!"
Her shouts carried a tone mixed with bluster and a hidden panic.
No sooner had she crossed the threshold than Chiang Xiao fiercely threw the broom at her, brushing past her body to slam onto the ground, making Guiying scream in shock and run faster than ever.
Song Xiyun had watched the entire scene unfold, and was astounded. Was Chiang Xiao ever like this? Chiang Xiao, who did well in school and read many books, always believed she would eventually get into university, leave the poor mountain village behind, and become an urbanite, a cultured person. She, therefore, always carried herself with a certain aloofness towards her fellow villagers.
Usually, even helping Chiang Songhai a little with the herbs was something she was reluctant to do, though she had no choice but to comply.
Song Xiyun had once seen Chiang Xiao's nails stained with medicine that she couldn't immediately wash off, and noticed her sitting quietly under the tree in the courtyard, silently shedding tears for a long time.
Furthermore, with her naturally fair skin, she didn't resemble the other village kids or women who were all tanned and rough; she was beautiful, with big watery eyes and a small mouth red and pouty, and she spoke in a gentle, whispered tone, pampered by Chiang Songhai and Ge Liutao like a delicate little lady.
In Song Xiyun's opinion, which other child in the village was as delicate as Chiang Xiao?
Feeding chickens and pigs, chopping wood, planting vegetables, carrying water, cooking, cleaning the house, washing clothes—what girl her age in the village hadn't done these things?
So it's clear, Chiang Xiao usually behaved just like a dainty little miss from the city.
But just now, Chiang Xiao seemed like a completely different person!
Not only did she lash out at Guiying, wielding a broom to strike, she even said she'd douse that foul woman with boiling water, and used such foul language as 'spewing filth'? When had the Chiang Xiao of the past ever said such things?